Steven L. Wright

Robert B. Raffa

John Peppin

Joseph V. Pergolizzi

"Benzodiazepines were developed to treat legitimate medical needs. However, unbridled success and prescribing beyond their intended duration of use and the available data has led to excessive prescribing, extended utilization beyond good therapeutic practice, and unintended adverse effects and substance use disorder. This book is the first to bring to light and discuss the largely unrecognized and enigmatic problem of an exceedingly prolonged withdrawal syndrome from benzodiazepines that can persist for months or years in susceptible patients, and the medical need for better evidence-based prescribing of benzodiazepines, and a call for the recognition and better treatment of the prolonged withdrawal syndrome"--

The Benzodiazepines Crisis

Opioids such as morphine, codeine, and oxycodone are extracts or analogs isolated from a single source: the opium poppy. For a long time, it was believed to be nature’s only source of opioids. But it now appears that biological diversity has evolved an alternative source of opioid compounds—those derived from the plant Mitragyna speciosa. This plant, known as Kratom in Thailand or Biak-Biak in Malaysia, has long been used locally as treatment for pain, fever reduction, diarrhea, and even depression. Kratom and Other Mitragynines: The Chemistry and Pharmacology of Opioids from a Non-Opium Source presents an introduction to the chemical and biological properties of alkaloids isolated from M. speciosa as well as their synthetic analogs. The book covers various topics including phytochemistry, medicinal chemistry, and pharmacology. Current research, analgesic effects, and addiction potential are also discussed. As the first extensive text on the basic science and clinical use of Kratom, the book provides readers with a concise yet comprehensive introduction to nature’s "other opioid."

The Chemistry and Pharmacology of Opioids from a Non-Opium Source

Kratom and Other Mitragynines

Diana Amantea

Understanding and addressing the current opioid crisis requires knowledge of endogenous opioids (endorphins and enkephalins), but there is now evidence for a benzodiazepine crisis. Are there endogenous benzodiazepine-like substances—and what do they do? How do they affect antianxiety drugs and their adverse effects? Do they explain enigmatic prolonged benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome? This book raises important questions about the clinical consequences of ignoring the existence of or understanding the potential influence of endogenous benzodiazepines on the therapeutic effect of benzodiazepines, their adverse effects, and the problems of withdrawal from them and other benzodiazepine receptor agonists. FEATURES Discusses endogenous benzodiazepine-like substances—what do they do, and do they affect antianxiety drugs and their adverse effects? Presents information on enigmatic prolonged benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome Describes the compounds acting at the BDZ binding sites, both exogenous (classical BDZ drugs and BDZ from food and plants) and endogenous (endozepines) Assesses the putative interactions in physiology, pathology, and pharmacology of the compounds acting at the BDZ binding sites Dr. Raffa is Adjunct Professor at the University of Arizona College of Pharmacy and Professor Emeritus at Temple University School of Pharmacy. He has co-authored or edited several books on pharmacology and thermodynamics, is a co-editor of two journals, is a past president of the Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society, and is the recipient of research and teaching awards. Dr. Amantea is Associate Professor of Pharmacology at the Department of Pharmacy, Health and Nutritional Sciences of the University of Calabria (Italy), where she is the leader of the Stroke Research Unit at the Section of Preclinical and Translational Pharmacology operating in the frame of the Italian Stroke Organization (ISO) Basic Science. She is a member of the Editorial Board and the Guest Editor of the 2016 Neuroscience section of Current Opinion in Pharmacology (Elsevier), and the founder and the editor of the CRC Press Frontiers in Neurotherapeutics series.

Implications for Benzodiazepine Therapy and Withdrawal

Naturally Occurring Benzodiazepines, Endozepines, and their Receptors

Elena Portyansky Beyzarov

Scott M. Rawls

Using the classic images of physician-artist Frank H. Netter, as well as other talented artists, this book offers a unique visual approach to learing the basic prinicples of pharmacology. Classified by specific organ systems, each chapter shows how drugs are used for specific disorders of that system. The authors also include clear, concise notes under each image, highlighting the iportant elements of each principle.

Robert B. Raffa

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